Concerning the automobile industry: I hear a lot of complaints about the loss of manufacturing, trade deficit etc. Should we all be making an effort to buy GM or Ford instead of Japanese or German? I mean, I guess I understand if you just can't get the kind of car you want from those two, but that would seem to be the exception rather than the rule.
I buy american SUV's and trucks but I think american cars are ugly for the most part and they have spotty reliability. When you can get a fully loaded camry that has a 260 hp engine and gets almost 30 mpg highway for around 25K, its hard to compete with.
Possibly even now, but certainly a few years ago, the Japanese cars were just better quality than most American cars. Add to that the Hyundai Korean market which has undergone a huge transformation, and makes some of the most dependable cars out there for a cheaper price. Cars cost a lot of money, and if I can get one that won't break down as often, and cost a ton in repairs, I will do it, no matter what nation that car is from.
I agree, but I think that is now part of the problem for US automakers. However, my question is should we NOW make an effort to buy from from Ford or GM.
I think that if they continue to put out higher quality merchandise, then their reputation will become that. The problem is also that they lack innovation. Other nations come out first with things like more fuel efficient cars, hybrids, etc. The American auto industry follows. It should be a leader. If they come out with something new, that is reliable and high quality then their names will be associated moreso than foreign auto makers.
Only if there is a recognition from the public of myth vs reality. That Japanese cars were more fuel efficient in the past doesn't have anything to do with whether or not you can get a fuel efficient car from an American automaker today. You're arguing that the perception is guiding purchases - I am not disagreeing. I am asking if we should consciously choose a Ford or GM rather than a foreign car. For example, why buy a Tundra instead of a F-150, GMC or Silverado? Shouldn't we defer to our own industry - isn't it in our own interest to buy American?
My first car 26 years ago was Japanese. Every single car since then has been American. The nationality of the manufacturer had nothing to do with my decisions. I will never EVER buy American cars just because they are American. Ford and GM can only blame themselves for having to cut over 30,000 employees each.
Why not - if you have two similar choices doesn't it make sense to NOT contribute to the trade deficit etc?
However, there are still some benefits to buying foreign. For one, American car companies are teeting on the brink of insolvency. Both GM & Ford are struggling. They are changing out makes and models like crazy. Ford is dropping a bunch of its models, and GM is phasing out entire lines like Oldsmobile. Both of those are good for their long-term health. However, that also reduces re-sale value of older models and increases the risks of buying American. If I'm looking at some new Ford SUV vs. a Nissan Pathfinder, there's a decent chance 5 years from now, Ford will drop that SUV. The Pathfinder's been around for decades, and is a better investment from a resale perspective. Until the US auto industry settles down, there's still a lot more risk there. Also, buying American for the sake of it would not be good for US firms in the long-run. These firms are falling behind in the perception game because their marketing sucks. They need to learn that and improve, and they need to keep pushing the innovation side of things. Buying for the sake of buying American would be like subsidizing the industry and rewarding inferior work (whether its the car itself or the marketing). These US companies need to become functional and profitable on their own two feet. Over the long-haul, I think they are on the right path though. The sales will come when they've fully transformed into better companies.
Neither are going to evaporate so I think you're exaggerrating the risk. Also it sounds like you are calling for them to streamline and innovate and then punishing them for doing so by labeling those actions risky. As large a chunk of sales as SUVs are for both GM and Ford there is little risk of them dropping them, unless people buy your arguments and subsequently stop buying their SUVs! Sounds like you are advocating buying imports because their marketing is better. I think that's silly. I am not talking about buying an inferior product but one perceived to be so. You are saying if their marketing is inferior then we should avoid them - which makes no sense as a buyer unless you only buy who has the slickest marketing campaign. I think that's the opposite of the criteria an informed buyer should use. I started the thread because I think there is a discrepancy between reality and perception as far as quality goes. Now you not only agree but trumpet that gap as a reason to buy imports! Wow.
from what i understand, these days if you want to buy american you have to go with toyota over ford or gm, as they actually use more american parts in their cars now than the average "american" automakers.
I say just let capitalism do its thing. If you want to buy a car because of its origin, fine. If you want to buy a car because its the best bang for your buck, fine. If you want to buy a car for its status symbol, that's fine too. There is no standard incentive for people buying cars, that's up for the consumer to choose. I don't believe we should force the incentive to make people buy American cars, just like we shouldn't force the incentive for people to buy ones with high fuel efficiency. If a manufacturer's cars aren't selling well, then it's their responsibility to make whatever improvements in quality or advertising to compete. I don't believe we should give out favors to someone who is inferior to a competitor. That goes for similar cases of affirmative action, welfare, and corporations.
Sounds nice, except those Japanese cars in North America market are made in US and Canada, but lots of major parts of Ford and GM are made in Asia. The effort of sacrificing quality to save the traditional big 3, might be ended up hurting your labor market but rewarding those not so good top management. In my opinion, you can't expect to gain the most from globalization and squeeze mose profit out of it, then turn around to play patriotic card to prevent competition.
That's the whole point. In the past their cars were more fuel efficient, and American cars followed. They did not lead. Hybrids were in the foreign cars first, now you can get an American hybrid. Again they followed and did not lead. The leaders get their names associated and married to certain concepts. I am just saying there are better ways to build the industry than forcing the consumer to grasp at some nationalism deep down inside. They should try and be leaders to get their names out there associated with something that people want.
I would buy Japanese for: 1. Better resale value 2. Better reliability 3. They are actually building plants in the US while GM and Ford are moving to Mexico
I'm not punishing them - I'm just not artificially supporting them. The industry as-is is not viable. They have a lot of restructuring and reshaping to do. Until that process is complete, it's a risk to the consumer to buy them. That's not to say people who want them should stop buying them - just that there are legitimate reasons beyond improved reliability that keep people from buying them. When I said Ford SUV, I didn't mean the SUV in general - I meant a specific model (take your pick). Ford is phasing out a lot of their current lines. The Taurus was one of their best selling vehicles for a long time and they are planning to scrap that - that sucks for all Taurus owners. The Ford CEO recently said that his goal with Ford is that people should look at their vehicles and say "I want a Ford". He also said only about 3 or 4 of their current models fit that line of thinking. They are replacing all their more traditional lines with new, edgy lines. That's great - but those things are unproven and there's no telling how long they will last. I wouldn't buy a Ford Explorer today because it may very well be gone in 5 years. I'm not saying any such thing. I'm saying to let the company stand on its own instead of artificially supporting them. They need to become better companies. That including improving their brand image, which helps to increase resale value. They need to learn these lessons and improve instead of being subsidized by saying "buy American". I'm not advocating buying American or imports. I'm pointing out reasons why there are still benefits to buying imports. Perception is important in car valuation. While American car companies have become more reliable, they haven't become "equal" to foreign car companies as a whole, and resale value (connected to marketing) is one example where buying American has a hidden price. For example, to use your "why buy a Tundra over an F150" example. As of 2005, Tundra has the highest resale value in its class. Toyota also has the highest resale value in the truck and large SUV markets. Ford, on the other hand, doesn't lead in any of the 10 categories: http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story...ual&subject=best_resale&referer=&aff=national Marketing may be silly to you, but it has real value to the purchaser of the car.
I call BS on that statement. Even though the quality gap has been shrinking, it has not closed. If you look at the Chevy cobalt and Dodge Neons for instance, they are terribly unreliable. The problem is that young people tend to buy these small cars and then have a bad experience with them. What do you think their perception will be when they upgrade when they have more money? Where as the japanese small cars are the most reliable cars on the road.
